Posts Tagged ‘volvo ocean race’

The Deep(ish) South will give us some of the best footage from this edition of the Volvo Ocean Race, so we’ll get it up while the gettin’s good. And good it is, with this James Blake movie featuring some of the Akzo’s mainsail-less sailing at a sedate pace while albatrosses fly all around the boat and the crew work on fixing it. 2014/15 award winning OBR Matt Knighton offers his commentary on the content in The Boatfeed over here.

For some deep insight into the meaning of “Albatross” yelled in a West Country accent, clicky.

With 55 knots already over the deck on leader Dongfeng, the monster Southern low is on the Volvo fleet. Here’s today’s Live Show with analysis from former VOR navigator Libby Greenhalgh and call-ins from Dongfeng and the much more northerly Plastic, and if you want to chat about the very latest action as the storm barrels through 7 well-prepared ocean racing teams, here’s the place to do it.

The shot above is from Sam Greenfield aboard Vestas, and below is Sam’s morning blog (and his writing is getting almost as good as hit filmmaking).

It’s 7:15 UTC time and the sched has just come through. Only God – or a kid with Google Earth on their tablet – knows what time it really is for us as the sun sets and rises earlier each day as we chase east at the bottom of the world. Imagine sunrises around 2am and sunsets around 5pm.

The wind is up as the storm builds. We’re leaping off waves at speeds in the mid 20s (knots) but the downwind angle is easier to stomach than anticipated.

Charlie is finishing up his chicken a la king with extra sweet and spicy sauce at the nav desk. Mark is perching right behind me with the same dish, coated in BBQ sauce. Both smell amazing. I strike up a deal with Charlie, telling him I’ll wash his bowl if he gives me a few good lines about the most recent position report. I’m starving anyway and need a bowl for dinner, so it’s a fair trade.

He starts out with “Weeeee’re, back in touch…. and ready to strike.”

Not good enough, I tell him. It’s the 3rd time he’s tried this line in four days and I have to remind him we’re not living in – sadly – Top Gun.

“After a … errrr… slow start and…” He pauses. “Dealing with our own weather…” Another pause. “We’ve jumped back up….”

I stop him there. Last chance. I offer a prompt: “The last sched came in… fill in the rest. Try that?”

“The last sched came in,” says Charlie. “We were the lowest, fastest boat” He changes to a robot voice, a slight reference to Robo-Charlie. My name for him when he delivers garbage, stilted quotes thinking it gets him out of it.

He continues, “We passed Brunel and AkzoNobel. The red boats remain ahead but within striking distance.”

He’s earned that last striking distance. Now comes the fun part. “And how does that make you feel? Sad Charlie? Happy Charlie? Iceman or Goose Charlie?”

“I was not so secretly hoping that we’d be ahead of all of them,” he admits.

Tired of the NFL? Looking for something to replace 3 hours of Formula 1? Or just looking for some sailing to share with your family? Have we got a Sunday for you!

Goodi Again!

The softspoken ginger Brit smacked up the world’s fastest sailors enroute to his Moth world title earlier this year, so how the hell does he go from that to a title in one of the slowest boats out there? Watch Paul Goodison take his first Star Sailors League World Title in an exciting day of knockout racing from our friends at the SSL.

The Reviewers

Before watching any of today’s Volvo action, get the full pro review of the Leg 2 on-board content from Matt Knighton and Mr. Clean along with a good discussion of the Scallywag controversy and ‘Dial-A-Pro’ with Sander Van Der Borch on Episode 2 of The Boatfeed.

Drivin’ On 9

What makes a great driver below 40 degrees South? Watch and learn.

Walk It Off

Not the best Dock Walk in the world, but we do get a little bit of Martine Grael, so we’ll take it.

So this is what all the fuss is about? This is cause for a Rule 69 protest? This is what Dawn Riley is butting her face into? Seriously? Video subject to Fair Use on this subject/copyright credit to VOR…

For a good read on why Rule 69 probably isn’t the best way to govern workplace conduct (not to mention that it is likely an illegal process in many progressive labor countries), read this excellent explanation from ‘Jack Sparrow’.

UPDATE: An initial version of this story inaccurately wrote that the VOR initiated the Rule 69 protest discussed below. We have corrected the story, and we add that we’re told there was more than one complaint that initiated the hearing, including one from Oakcliff Sailing’s Dawn Riley and one from a ‘concerned sailor’ in Hong Kong.

We don’t think there is a more misguided, over-reactive and ludicrous “protest” than this. It is such a blatantly politically correct move that, combined with the ridiculous Rule 69 definition, helps push our sport into a new state of pussification. We are not surprised that whiney Dawn Riley is butting in an issue that she has nothing to do with.

Defining a Rule 69 as virtually any “misconduct” from what was formerly defined as “gross misconduct” as made it so that virtually any perceived violation can get one chucked from a race. Hell, this entire website is practically a running violation.

In this instance, using the word “scrotum” in a onboard, at sea skit is now “misconduct”? Fuck me. – ed

[A non-party to the Volvo Ocean Race]…have filed what’s called a Rule 69 against Team Sun Hung Kai/Scallywag, their skipper David Witt and navigator Steve Hayles for their stupid and sexist behavior in a video which was posted from the boat. For those not familiar with Rule 69 it reads as follows:

Misconduct – A competitor, boat owner or support person shall not commit an act of misconduct. Misconduct is: (1) conduct that is a breach of good manners, a breach of good sportsmanship, or unethical behaviour; or (2) conduct that may bring the sport into disrepute.

My Open Letter was in reference to that video but it was not to call out Witt and Hayles for their behavior. Instead it was to point out that the Volvo Ocean Race management let the video sit on their website for over a week and only took it down after being bombarded with complaints.

The hearing is this Thursday in Cape Town ahead of the third leg start on Sunday. The International Jury are on their way to South Africa to conduct the hearing. To be honest I am not sure what the penalties are but I guess we will find out later this week.

In this current climate where so many women are coming forward with claims of sexual harassment a video like this has no place on the website of an international sporting event like the VOR. Sure back in the “old” days people might have found it funny but those days are long gone and thankfully so. – Brian Hancock.

You see them at every major regatta; a chaotic, bedraggled corps of passionate wackos toting pelican cases and laptop bags who call themselves ‘media professionals.’ They’re more demanding than the most spoiled billionaire owner and more manipulative than a match racing champ, and they’re more cynical and jaded than any sailor could hope to be. The scariest part of it all is that the success or failure of an event can come down to whether or not someone can keep the journalists, filmmakers, and photographers happy, and in all the world, there was one woman better at that job than anyone else in the world.

And we’re gutted to tell you that yesterday, after years of quietly battling against the disease that took her, one of the world’s best managers of personalities anywhere died.

I’d say Isabel Genis exemplified the term ‘grace under pressure,’ but in reality, grace permeated Isa did regardless of pressure. When we first met Isabel she was running a massive press operation at the Barcelona World Race, and her deft hand at handling the stickiest situations was already legendary. Somehow able to turn the most negative story into a feel-good win/win narrative, Isabel always managed to find an elegant solution to any problem without sacrificing her integrity or honesty.

Isabel took the time to read every reporter’s filing and watch almost every film. She spoke at least 6 languages and could provide you with a fact, a name, or a translation in microseconds. To me, a 30-something ‘reporter’ with my 20-something photographer wife representing an ‘outlaw’ publication, Genis did something that no one else running a major event had ever done: She made us feel like a truly valuable part of the whole thing, and helped us really want to bring our readers behind the scenes for some amazing stories.

Without Isabel, the world’s understanding of the great races she worked – The Race, the Vendee Globe, Olympics, Barcelona World Race, America’s Cup, Volvo Ocean Race (and everything else Isabel touched in her busy career) – would be much poorer. Personally, had I missed out on several late night, hours-long, red wine-fueled talks about the sport, controversy, ethics, technology and family with Isabel, I know I’d be a much poorer person for it. We are all poorer this morning for her loss.

As evidence of the strength of her personality, the internet’s blowing up with thoughts on her death. First, an excerpt from Marcus Hutchinson’s eulogy on Facebook (thanks for the pic, Marcus):

There is not a day that goes by that we are not confronted by a difficult choice or a situation where we need to lean on past experience. When it comes to being patient, understanding, tolerant and forgiving, something I often struggled with in my younger years, I now frequently revert to the behaviour of Isabel Genis and how she would have dealt with this or that situation. I know too that my children watch me and often react to how I react. This is good, great, the best possible outcome. Thank you Isabel. RIP

And from Corriere Della Sera’s Bianca Ascenti:

When I landed in Auckland in September 2002 I had only two details, a contract with the Louis Vitton Cup and a postal address. When I arrived in what would have been my home for six unforgettable months, I came through the door: With one hand you gave me the house keys and with the other, a glass of red wine, all while speaking perfect italian about the Cup, the Kiwis, and the beauty of the land down under…

I want to talk about my friend Isa, who I had the honor of knowing and the privilege of attending: a rare person, able to hear and understand without ever judging; to enjoy life and to laugh at things without losing them; to take everything that came with strength and with extraordinary balance; to always find time for friends and affections, to say the right words at the right time, to recommend deep books and to stimulate always interesting conversations …

I can not believe it, but after 15 years the time has come to say goodbye. I’ll miss you, Isa. And look at you when you’re up there, as you always said to me, “Hay gente para todo.”

In this inaugural episode of “The Boatfeed,” co-hosts Matt Knighton and Alan “Mr. Clean” Block discuss the reason for the show’s creation and get right into serious analysis of the first leg of the 2017/18 Volvo Ocean Race. Learn the challenges and rewards of being a media professional on the world’s toughest crewed yacht race, check out Clean and Matt’s picks for the top media performers of each leg, and get the kinds of inside info on the sport that you won’t find anywhere else.

Dee shows moments of brilliance, super tight racing throughout, and the weather shows up to completely throw things into disarray and set up a Tuke vs. Burling run to the finish. Beautiful stuff, much improved over Alicante, and worth a watch.